Judge Rules Alphabet CEO May be Called in Theft Case

The lawsuit between Uber and Alphabet’s self-driving vehicle think tank Waymo drags on with a new wrinkle. A U.S. magistrate judge has declared that Uber lawyers could depose Alphabet CEO Larry Page or Alphabet Chief Legal Officer David Drummond, calling them to speak about the allegations of corporate theft.

The case started in February, when Waymo sued Uber for patent infringement. Engineer Anthony Levandowski was accused of stealing confidential files from Waymo and taking them to his own startup, Otto, which Uber then acquired.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley says that “less intrusive” options are not sufficient to get to the bottom of the case. She ruled that Uber lawyers may talk to Page for four hours under oath, possibly to talk about a plan he had to partner with Uber before the case began. Waymo resisted the idea of either a deposition or using Page as a witness, according to Ars Technica. They may also hold Drummond back from a potential deposition.

In the ruling, Corley wrote, “Waymo states only that it has no current intent to call Mr. Page as a witness. Thus, it appears Waymo wants to reserve the right to call him as a witness (to perhaps contradict what [former Uber CEO Travis] Kalanick says about their conversations) and yet shield him from deposition.”

Levandowski is alleged to have stolen 14,000 documents. A U.S. district judge ruled that Uber would need to return the documents to Waymo.